Quacker64

Well this is my first week with the forum. Very friendly and advice/opinion galore. My only issue is the thing is huge. Mi keep getting lost and struggle to keep up or re-find things. (I'm going to make a fine stargazer he aren't I? Lol).

That's not a criticism by the way, merely an observation. It might also be down to me and the way I use said forum.

I guess the best thing for me is to suck it and see. I do miss the edit function though and often cringe at any little typo after I post. Quicker I get to 250 posts the better.

If it doesn't exist, I'd like so see something like a scope finder for new people which asks a series of relevant questions to determine the best scope or setup for your needs depending on the answer. I know people can help out with this, but I mean like an automatic application sort of thing.

Loads to learn and see - so little time. :-)

So yes it can be done with this mount, but to honest this isn't an easy mount to do that with. If you want to use a mount in manual mode then I wouldn't plumb for this mount. If you want manual, I'd get an alt-az manual mount (then you don't have to learn about equatorial mounts). If you think you can master the night sky and equatorial mounts in one go (many have done) then get a manual equatorial mount. If you want to be able to use the mount as GOTO too, then I'd go for something like the EQ5 or above depending upon the weight of the scope you are using).

Personally I don't see a problem with starting out with GOTO. My knowledge of the night sky is pretty poor, mostly because I spend so few nights outside, not because I have GOTO. When I do set up, I just want to look or image things, not spend all of my 2-4 hours navigating and star hopping, which may appeal to some, but doesn't appeal to me.

Whatever you get, you will want to upgrade at some point.

James

I make you right James! Another hobby - birding saw me agonise over my first scope. I now have several (five) spotting scopes with eyepieces ranging from around 16x to 75x from handheld in the woods to observing eagles on Mull and several,in between. I'm mentally already planning my next scope but will not know exactly what until I get the first one. Talk of getting ahead on oneself!

Steve

Yes, you don't have to align the scope or use the GOTO, and you can just manually slew to where ever you want in the sky. Depending on what part of the set up you do though, it might not even track an object when you find one, so you might be continually making corrections to keep the object of your desires within the field of view (and depending on the focal length of the scope (and if you are using a Barlow and/or high power eye piece)) you may be making a lot of corrections - in which case, why not just buy an unpowered alt-ax mount?

James

My question was merely whether it could be done as I note with interest debate rages whether the GOTO system is useful to beginners or not. As a beginner myself I wondered whether it was possible to override or use manually. As was possible with the first fully automatic or semi-automatic SLR cameras which had full manual override for the traditionalists.

On a personal level (i.e. Myself) it would be the first of several scopes as I would probably want different ones for different work from hone to mobile/portable. I don't mind the traditional type of scope and learning but have no problems with the technology either. Whichever oath I think will lead to some interesting experiences and learning.

May I ask what might seem a dumb question as a complete beginner as I am seriously considering the Skywatcher MAK 127 with the go to system (SKYMAX-127 SYNSCAN™ AZ GOTO) can the go to or auto feature not be disabled or over-ridden as I understand the scope is manually set up for 1st star alignment? Can the go to system not just be switched off and scope used manually?

I appreciate I might be over-simplifying a more complex issue.